Isaiah 35 Explained

Isaiah 35 is the thirty-fifth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. This chapter continues a prophecy commenced in the previous chapter, and forms the final chapter in a group (chapters 28–35) which the Jerusalem Bible calls a collection of "poems on Israel and Judah".^[1] The New King James Version entitles this chapter "The Future Glory of Zion".^[2]

Text

The original text was written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 10 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Isaiah Scroll (1Qlsa; 356-100 BCE^[3]), Codex Cairensis (895 CE), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008).

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B;

^B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: ^S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; ^A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; ^Q; 6th century).

Parashot

The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex.^[4] Isaiah 35 is a part of the Prophecies about Judah and Israel (Isaiah 24–35). : open parashah; : closed parashah.

35:1-2 35:3-10 ^[5]

Analysis

This chapter shares similar imagery with later parts of Isaiah (chapters 40–66), such as:

• God's glory (verse 2; cf.)
• Opening the eyes of the blind and healing the lame (verses 5–6; cf. ;
• The promise of a highway through the desert (verse 8ff; cf. ; 62:10)

Verse 1

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.^[6] This verse uses three terms for desolate places: Hebrew: מִדְבָּר (midbar, "wilderness"), Hebrew: צִיָּה (tsiyyah, "dry place, desert"; KJV: "solitary place"), and Hebrew: עֲרָבָה (ʿaravah, "rift valley"; KJV: "desert").^[7] A midbar is an area that receives less than twelve inches of rain per year and may have some pasturage (if receiving six to twelve inches of rain), but often has desert-like qualities.^[7] A tsiyyah does not refer to 'a sandy desert per se', but among the three terms 'most clearly indicates a dry, desert region'.^[7] The "rift valley" includes the Jordan Valley, yet 'it still has a reputation as a dry, desolate place from its conditions near the Dead Sea and southward'.^[7]

• "Rose": is translated from the Hebrew word ḥăḇatzeleṯ, that occurs two times in the scriptures, beside in this verse also in, and rendered variously as "lily" (Septuagint "κρίνον",^[8] Vulgate "lilium",^[9] Wiclif "lily"^[10]), "jonquil" (Jerusalem Bible) and "crocus" (RSV)

Verse 4

Say to those who have an anxious heart,

"Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you."^[11] The Hebrew wording refers to those "of a hasty heart".^[12] Albert Barnes associates the word with "those who are disposed to flee before their enemies".

Verse 5

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.^[13] Jesus cited this verse in claiming these prophecies to himself, when he spoke to the disciples of John the Baptist as recorded in, 5.^[14] Jesus performed the miracles of giving sight to the blind people multiple times, providing the proof that 'he was the Messiah sent from God' (; Matthew 20:30; Mark 8:23; Mark 10:46; Luke 7:21).^[15]

Verse 6

Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.^[16]

• "The lame man leap as an hart": Compared to the healing of lame men by Christ (15:30 KJV) or by Peter (3:1 KJV).^[17]

Verse 10

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.^[18]

• "The ransomed of the Lord shall return": from Hebrew: Hebrew: ופדויי יהוה ישבון, ū- ,^[19] "And_the_ransomed of_Yahweh shall_return"; in combination with the last phrase of verse 9: "and the redeemed will walk, the ransomed of the Lord will return."^[20]
• "On their heads": from Hebrew: Hebrew: על־ראשם, -,^[19] "[will be] on their head[s]"; NET: "will crown them". "Joy" here is likened to a crown (cf. 1:10 KJV), which may also be 'an ironic twist on the idiom "earth/dust on the head" (cf. 2 Samuel 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice'.^[21]
• "They shall obtain": from Hebrew: Hebrew: ישיגו, ,^[19] "will overtake" (NIV); NLT: "they will be overcome with"; NET: "will overwhelm them".^[22]
• "And sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (KJV/NKJV): from Hebrew: Hebrew: ונסו יגון ואנחה, wə- wa-, "and_shall_flee_away sorrow and_sighing^[19] or "grief and groaning will flee"; NET: "grief and suffering will disappear".^[23]

The theme of "sorrow and sighing" can be linked to the elaboration in Isaiah 65.

Uses

Music

The Catholic theologian Friedrich Dörr based an Advent song, "Kündet allen in der Not", on verses from this chapter.

Verses 5–6 of the King James Version of this chapter are cited as texts in the English-language oratorio "Messiah" by George Frideric Handel (HWV 56).^[24]

See also

• Carmel
• Lebanon
• Miracles of Jesus
• Sharon
• Related Bible parts: Matthew 9, Matthew 11, Matthew 12, Matthew 20, Matthew 21, Mark 7, Mark 8, Mark 9, Mark 10, Luke 7, Luke 11, John 9, Acts 3, Acts 14

Sources

• Book: Childs, Brevard S. . Isaiah . Westminster John Knox Press . 2001 . 9780664221430 .
• Book: Coggins, R . 22. Isaiah . The Oxford Bible Commentary . John. Barton . John Barton (theologian) . John. Muddiman . John Muddiman . Oxford University Press . first (paperback) . 2007 . 433–486 . 978-0199277186 . February 6, 2019.
• Book: Würthwein, Ernst . Ernst Würthwein . The Text of the Old Testament . Wm. B. Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 1995 . Erroll F.. Rhodes . 0-8028-0788-7 . January 26, 2019.

External links

Jewish

• Isaiah 35 Hebrew with Parallel English

Christian

• Isaiah 35 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate

Notes and References

1. Jerusalem Bible (1966), Isaiah section E: Poems on Israel and Judah
2. 2 Isaiah
3. Jull. Timothy A. J.. Donahue. Douglas J.. Broshi. Magen. Tov. Emanuel. 1995. Radiocarbon Dating of Scrolls and Linen Fragments from the Judean Desert. Radiocarbon. 37. 14. 11 July 2017. 1.
4. As implemented in the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 edition of the Hebrew Bible in English.
5. https://www.stepbible.org/?q=version=Aleppo|reference=Isa.35&options=UVNHG Isaiah 35 - Aleppo Codex
6. 35:1 KJV

   KJV

7. Note [b] on Isaiah 35:1 in NET Bible
8. http://en.katabiblon.com/us/index.php?text=LXX&book=Is&ch=35 Isaiah 35:1
9. http://www.latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=0&b=27&c=35 Isaiah 35:1
10. http://www.biblestudytools.com/wyc/isaiah/35.html Isaiah 35:1
11. 35:4 ESV

    English Standard Version

12. cf. marginal note in the Revised Version
13. 35:5 KJV

    KJV

14. Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "Isaiah 35". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019.
15. [Albert Barnes (theologian)|Barnes, Albert]
16. 35:6 KJV

    KJV

17. [John Gill (theologian)|Gill, John]
18. 35:10 KJV

    KJV

19. https://biblehub.com/text/isaiah/35-10.htm Hebrew Text Analysis: Isaiah 35:10
20. Note [a] on Isaiah 35:10 in NET
21. Note [b] on Isaiah 35:10 in NET
22. Note [c] on Isaiah 35:10 in NET
23. Note [d] on Isaiah 35:10 in NET
24. Block. Daniel I.. Daniel I. Block. 2001. Handel's Messiah: Biblical and Theological Perspectives. Didaskalia. 12. 2. 19 July 2011.